Ade Obisesan
Guest Author
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/ 5 May 2006

Darfur peace inches closer as rebel group signs accord

The drive for peace in the devastated Sudanese region of Darfur took a tentative step nearer success on Friday with one rebel faction agreeing to sign a peace deal, although another still refused. The African Union’s year-old drive to bring peace to Darfur with a comprehensive package had begun the day in crisis with continued refusal by the rebels to sign a deal to end the three-year-old civil war.

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/ 4 May 2006

US, UK press rebels to accept Darfur peace deal

The United States and other international mediators battled on Thursday to strong-arm Darfur’s rebel leaders into accepting a peace deal to end three years of slaughter in their devastated region in western Sudan. US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick and British International Development Secretary Hilary Benn added their weight to African Union peace talks after the warring parties failed to meet a deadline for an accord.

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/ 3 May 2006

Deadlocked Darfur peace talks extended

International mediators battled on Wednesday to save the African Union’s make-or-break bid to end Darfur’s bloody civil war after peace talks between the Khartoum government and rebels ran into another quagmire. United States envoy Robert Zoellick and British International Development Minister Hilary Benn joined AU officials in seeking a new compromise after rebel leaders from the devastated western Sudanese region refused to sign a peace deal.

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/ 1 January 2006

Nigeria’s annus horribilis

Two plane crashes which killed more than 200 people, including schoolchildren, and a clampdown on opposition figures were the striking events that blighted Nigeria’s social and political landscape in 2005. ”2005 is a year that is ending on a catastrophic note and I do not expect any radical change from our leaders in 2006 because they are bereft of good leadership,” said reverend Gabriel Osu, spokesperson for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos.

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/ 27 August 2004

Sudan dismisses UN ultimatum

Sudan’s government on Thursday defiantly dismissed a United Nations deadline for it to disarm its proxy militia in the Darfur region, insisting it would resolve the conflict there through ongoing African Union peace talks. On the fourth day of talks between the government and Darfur’s rebel groups, the parties put a row over disarmament to one side in order to decide how to tackle a mounting humanitarian crisis in the western region.